Mushroom and Barley Soup

Pokhlyobka is a typical hearty peasant soup. In true rustic style, it is usually eaten with black bread generously rubbed with raw garlic. Real garlic lovers simply eat the garlic straight: take a whole peeled clove of garlic and dip it in salt before biting into it. This kind of garlic eating is best done among friends, however. It wasn’t until I got to know my Russian hosts well that we dared eat the pungent cloves together.